By Jon Cook TORONTO, July 9 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fellon Monday, led by mining and energy shares, on doubts a meetingof euro zone ministers would accomplish much and after weakChinese data stoked fears about global growth. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index touched a July low during the session. Weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data, combined with asoft U.S. jobs report on Friday, raised concerns the globaleconomy is hitting a soft patch. While markets slid, however, commodity prices rose onexpectations that Beijing would act to avoid a hard landing ofthe world's second-largest economy. Still, investors werecautious before a report due later in the week on China's grossdomestic product, which is likely to show the weakest expansionin three years. "There's a bit of a divergence that's under way," saidMichael Gayed, chief investment strategist at Pension PartnersLLC in New York. "That may be because of this feeling that whatseems to be the aggressive policy steps that China is taking maystart to cause a pick-up in demand for commodities." Most of Canada's 10 main sectors were in the red on Monday.Leading the way were the materials and energy groups, which bothfell 0.6 percent. Teck Resources was the biggest single drag,tumbling 2.6 percent to C$31.08 after the copper miner said onMonday it has temporarily withdrawn the environmental assessmentapplication for its expansion at the Quebrada Blanca mine inChile. Other resource companies which fell included top goldproducer Barrick Gold, which slid 0.5 percent toC$37.36, First Quantum Minerals, down 2.8 percent atC$18.11, Suncor Energy, off 0.7 percent to C$29.16, andCanadian Natural Resources, which sank 1 percent toC$26.32. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished down 25.29 points, or 0.2 percent, at 11,634.67. At onepoint it touched 11,565.04, its lowest since June 29. Doubts that a meeting of euro zone finance chiefs willresult in much progress further dented sentiment, while yieldson benchmark Spanish and Italian bonds were moving up to levelsconsidered unsustainable. However, the losses were limited as the data was also seenboosting the prospects for stimulus from the world's majorcentral banks. "That's the sign of a bear market," said John Ing, presidentof Maison Placements Canada. "The market is forever looking forthe hope of a QE3, but the reality is that quantitative easingonly buys time." Three top U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers on Monday laidthe groundwork for a third round of bond purchases, orquantitative easing, to prop up the struggling economy.

With uncertainty high, investors bought up safe-haventelecommunications stocks, which edged up 0.2 percent. TelusCorp shares rose 0.7 percent to C$63.07, while BCE Inc climbed 0.4 percent to C$42.56. Markets were also subdued ahead of the start of the U.S.earnings season. With North American stocks being broadly oversold, Gayedsaid it could spark a turnaround. "You could have a situation where the bad news and badearnings and bad demand everyone is expecting ends up being seenas a reason to own risk assets," he added. "If everyone alreadyassumes that it's negative then you start betting on theopposite."